Here's Johnny!

Meet Johnny, or as beach goers call him, "man who sleeps on beach talking in his sleep." Typically you'll find him where the sand and water meet. Sun or rain, light or dark, he's relaxing and wondering from beach to beach living what he refers to as "the life." When I met him, he was face down on a red and yellow striped beach towel. His back was the color of the red stripes on his towel caused by an over exposed kiss from the sun. As I walked by him, he grunted, and muffled some words.
"Are you ok sir?" I ask hesitantly, I didn't want to wake a sleeping giant.
"Murahndamo," Johnny grunted, "Wha? Oh, um, hello Miss." Johnny stands up looking slightly embarrassed for his sleep talk...well sleep grunting.
His skin was a color of it's own, like it couldn't decide if it wanted to be tan or sun burnt. His sandy blond bangs brushed his aging face. You could see years of experience in his eyes. You could see that for every grey speck with in his ice blue iris' there was a story to tell. Johnny brushed off his chest of the sand he had been sleeping in. His hands were naked, no rings or watches. In fact other than his aging straw hat and a tearing pair of blue plaid shorts, Johnny's body was naked.
"May I help you miss?" Johnny interjects my study of his persona. I shrug and pretend like I don't know. Johnny smiles and bends over to pick up his towel. He began walking away as I stood there still curious to who this man was. What did he do? Where did he live? What was his story?
"Wait!" I yelled to him suddenly, I didn't know what came over me. I wanted to know his story. I wanted to meet Johnny, and hear those stories you could see in his eyes. I took of my sandals and began running up to him. I was going to spend the rest of my afternoon in the most relaxing place, learning about a man named Johnny. He lived every day like his last. Stress was a foreign word, the beach was his home, and most importantly, anyone and everyone was his friend.

Who's That Tappin On My Window?

"What was that?" Johnny whispered breaking the silence of the night.

"You heard it to?" Johnny's little brother Gary replied.

"There it was again, what is it? I think it's coming from the outside," Johnny said, his voice now shaking. Sounds like someones tapping on the window."

"You think it could be..." Gary started to say.

"No way, Dad just said that to scare us," Johnny said cutting off his brother before he could finish his sentence. "It's just a scary story to tell us little kids."

"I heard it again, just then, right there," Gary snapped back at his brother, unconvinced that his dad just made the story up. "How do you know Johnny? How do you know it's not true. You sound pretty freaked out yourself over there."

"It just scared me a little, it's probably just a tree branch blowing in the wind," Johnny fired back trying to sound confident, his voice still shaky though. He continued, "Dad would never have let us sleep out here in the loft if it wasn't safe."

"But what if Johnny, what if Dad was right? He's right about a lot of other stuff you know," Gary plead with his brother, "Can we call him, can we go back inside?"

"Fine," Johnny replied trying to sound inconvenienced, but truly relieved. "I'll call him and ask if he can come get us and bring us inside," he continued while dialing his dad's cell, who was across the field sleeping in the house.

"Johnny listen," Gary said quietly, gesturing to his brother to put down the phone. "Do you hear a phone ringing outside?"

Suspense in the Bar

The floor creeked sharply as he walked in, he wonderd if anyone heard. He glanced across the room and quickly hid behind a table. The chairs had been put upside down on top to free the floor to be swept. As he waited, he tried to control his breathing. He needed to calm down. Looking across the room, there was no one there. Empty bottles and peanut shells lined the tables, and there were puddles of miscellanious liquids on the floor everywhere. "Calm down," he tries to convince himself. Instead the silence is broken by the beating of his own heart. Something just doesn't feel right. The clock shows 3:30am. He stands again, moving slowly across the room, this time avoiding the glass shards and loose floor boards that would give away his position. As he approached the backroom, he saw the door. Just like described, a cracked wooden door with a red light glowing from the space between the door and the floor. As he caught his composure, he could feel the sweat dripping down his face. He knew what he had to do, but didn't know if he could go through with it. He knew this one act would change his life forever.

Lunch on the Near Side of the Moon

Freezing fingers and toes, an afternoon like this was colder than normal. The moon was beautiful this time of year. I mean aside from the deathly frigid temperatures, but even that was okay, because you didn't need a cooler for a mid-afternoon picnic. I was running late. I had a date on the south side of the Mere Frigoris. I loved it there. The white powder of the Moon's surface was so smooth, I could bathe in it. The edges of the crater were sharp and deep. It was a clear night and the glimmer of Earth lit up the Moon's sky. A beautiful afternoon, stars shining like the twinkle in a new love's eye.

The natural light of the day made scaling the edge of the bluff into the crater an easier feat than normal. As my hands gripped the hand divots in the side of the moon bluff wall. It was a cold sensation against my pale skin. As I gripped my way down, the light of the Earth dimmed. It was darker and even colder as I climbed deeper and deeper into the abyss. At least my beer was still cold. I got to the bottom and jumped into the shallow white powder. A subtle white cloud of dust gathered around my feet. I walked to the picnic sight and set down my cooler. I laid down my blanket and fell back. I sunk into the ground like on abed of feathers. It was so soft and relaxing. I found myself getting lost in the stars. So close and so bright. It was a beautiful day. The sound of my heart beating, the small puffs of steam coming from my nose and mouth. The artificial atmosphere made it a breathable air, but it was like nothing you have ever inhaled before. I sharp, crisp air. Like an aerosol spray into your lungs every time you took a breath. It was an indescribable refreshment. This was my paradise. Not warm and sunny, but dark and cold. Stars shining bright, the soft moon surface under my head. I couldn't ask for a better setting.